Why Tucker, Cubs decided that he'd play through hand injury

CHICAGO -- The bottom line is that Kyle Tucker wanted to keep playing. As the Cubs star stood in front of his locker on Thursday morning, that was how he explained the decision to keep pushing through a hand injury that flared back in June.

Tucker was back in the lineup for Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Brewers, following two days off amid a persistent slump that has stretched over the past several weeks. It was revealed on Wednesday night that the outfielder sustained a hairline fracture in his right hand in June, but he never felt a trip to the injured list was necessary.

“I was doing fine and everything, still playing well,” Tucker said. “So, I was just like, ‘I’m going to keep playing.’ There wasn’t really a need to go on an IL, because I could still do everything. It was more like a pain tolerance at that point rather than like I physically couldn’t do anything.”

In Thursday’s loss -- one that concluded a five-game series with the Brewers in which the Cubs picked up three wins -- Tucker’s offensive struggles continued. He drew a walk in his first plate appearance after receiving a warm reception from the Wrigley faithful, but ended the day 0-for-4 with two groundouts, a flyout and a soft liner that led to a double play.

Tucker first jammed his right ringer finger on a slide into second base on June 1 against the Reds, forcing him to exit the game early. X-rays were initially negative, but Tucker underwent further imaging after some swelling subsided and discomfort lingered. That is when he learned there was a small fracture near his ring and pinkie fingers.

Both Cubs manager Craig Counsell and Tucker indicated that the fracture was healing by the time the secondary images were taken. They said the injury is healed at this point, but there is no concrete way to know how much that setback sparked a chain reaction in Tucker’s swing mechanics that led to his recent slump.

“Look, we don’t know. That’s the best answer I can give you,” Counsell said. “I don’t know. We’re kind of guessing there. It’s happened before. You’ve seen it happen to players before, certainly, so it’s reasonable to speculate. But, we don’t know.”

Counsell was asked why the team did not disclose information about the hairline fracture earlier.

“There’s lots of things that aren’t disclosed when players are playing,” said the manager.

Adding another layer to the situation, Tucker was still thriving in the batter’s box in the immediate wake of the hand injury.

In June, Tucker posted a .311/.404/.578 slash line with a 173 WRC+, meaning he was performing 73% above average. He had a 48.6% flyball rate and 35.7% ground-ball rate in June, so it was not obvious to onlookers at the time that he was dealing with any lingering hand soreness.

“He was playing well,” Counsell said. “We made a decision together to keep playing, because he was playing well and able to manage it and tolerate it, which is something that players choose to do, because they can maybe get through things.”

Tucker’s slash line dropped to .218/.380/.295 in July, when he posted a 106 wRC+ and saw his flyball rate dip to 42.6%. And then came August, in which Tucker has hit .138/.231/.138 with no extra-base hits, plus a 25.0% flyball rate and 52.5% ground-ball rate, entering Thursday.

“I didn’t really try and change my mechanics or anything,” Tucker said. “It might’ve gradually happened over time -- I don’t know. I was just kind of playing with it. I was doing fine for a while and, obviously, after a while it kind of turned.”

With Tucker’s exit velocities, launch angle and bat speed all dropping over that same time period, Counsell opted to give him a “reset” this week against the Brewers. Tucker was out of the starting lineup for Tuesday’s doubleheader sweep of Milwaukee and again for Wednesday’s win, allowing him time to clear his head and focus on his swing.

Tucker was asked if anything positive came out of the days off.

“We won a few games,” he said with a smile. “I mean, it was good. I got to see our team win and felt good in the cage and everything.”

Asked if he was still playing to tolerance, Tucker replied: “I’m pretty much past it. It’s fine. I’ve been playing the whole time anyways. I’m feeling good. I’m all right.”

For the Cubs to make a deep run in October, having Tucker healthy and playing like himself again is crucial. He is hoping to recapture the feeling and swing he had earlier this season now that he is beyond the brief mental break.

“At any point throughout the year,” Tucker said, “you’re probably one swing away from turning things around, feeling great or from something clicking to where you can feel something in that. And then you can make it consistent with every at-bat. Everyone’s one swing away from having a really good year.”